We strongly believe that the decisions we make reflect our values. So we put a lot of effort into researching and discussing every decision we make as a company to ensure that we are upholding our values. Sometimes that gets challenging when our values conflict with each other. We’d like to share our decision process behind choosing our new Server Leasing Vendor so you can understand our thought process and see our value system at work.

We’re excited to be starting this new adventure with Shepherd Dog, so naturally we’ve been sharing our excitement with family, old friends, new friends… basically anyone that’s interested. And in doing so we’ve found that frequently the first question we get from people is, “How do you market something like that?”

Apple has repeatedly used an analogy of tent poles to features in new products they are introducing. The analogy is that these features lift up the product and both make it what it is and allow for it to stand on its own. A similar analogy is to legs on a stool. The stool's legs ensure that it can stand up and support weight.

Today we're going to use these analogies to talk about...

One thing that has bothered me about folks talking about their businesses is when they promote the hell out of the good times but don't mention the bad times. They act as though everything is rosy...

In these first few months as we make decisions about Shepherd Dog we are also figuring out what our values are. Part of our thought process for each decision involves analyzing why we made that decision and what it says about who we are. In the near future we will put our values into writing and make them a core part of our site.

An industrial designer imagines the most beautiful chair ever. She sketches it out and then renders it in a software design tool. That tool is able to test the structure of her design...